The Challenge
For VIS 2 - Introduction to Art: Motion and Time-Based Art, we were asked to perform an action of our choosing everyday fro 10 weeks. The quarter-long project's intention was to reflect on the changes observed around the action and within ones self, as well as things that have remained the same. We were also asked to reflect how this practice related to art and our lives.
The Background
After hearing the prompt for the project, I immediately started thinking of my past experiences. I wanted to find an activity I was particularly bad at so I could improve on it. Growing up with ADHD I was constantly told that I was impatient and needed to control myself more. In choosing my activity I was also inspired greatly by Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi's work "Waiting" (2002). So I decided I would wait everyday for 10 weeks and observe the changes in my waiting process. I would brew tea in the traditional Turkish way using a semaver (a two piece pot with a bigger pot on the bottom for water). You first boil the water, then add the water to the tea leaves on the smaller pot on the top. The water takes around 5 minutes to boil and the brewing takes around 3-5 additional minutes.
The Process
In the beginning I found it really challenging to sit and wait for the alarm to go off. I looked around the whole time to find some distraction. After a week I started singing songs in my head or rethinking things I heard or did that day. The next week I started zoning out either daydreaming or imagining things from my further past, like things I did in high school. By practicing waiting intentionally, I got more and more comfortable and less restless. My restlessness was being caused by a lack of stimulation from external factors. Inhibiting my exteroception caused me to turn inward and find internal stimuli to pass the time (i.e. singing songs in my head, thinking retrospectively, etc.).
The practice of intentional waiting made me realize that I spend a lot of my time as an instrument to achieving some goal. Waiting for the water to boil so I can pour it in the tea leaves was the same as waiting for the bus to arrive so I can get where I need to be. I was already spending most of my day waiting and yet I had no idea how I was spending that time. Through reflecting on my practice, I understood that my habits were determining my behaviors. It was uncomfortable for me to wait at first, because I had adopted unhealthy habits to shower myself with external stimuli when I get the slightest indication of boredom.
The Product
Since it was self-reflection that afforded me this epiphany, I wanted to reflect that process in my final product. Hence, I created a piece that read "This sentence was written with tea leaves" on a blank canvas. The sentence was written in passive voice, but it was my actions that shaped the leaves and created the sentence. I wanted this juxtaposition to represent the cooperation of intentional and unintentional functions of the human brain.
I am certainly not advocating for being in a perpetual state of mindfulness and alertness. I am aware that our brain's auto-pilot saves us a lot of time and energy, but it can be very dangerous to rely solely on our habitual behaviors. Once we become aware of our self and our environment we can think critically about our habitual responses and the circumstances that shape those responses. I believe we need to actively design better habits for ourselves and then let those habits guide us to achieve our long term objectives. A good model might be one where we periodically check in with our internal processes and plan actions that will help us build better ones.
